Russ White and I were in Bay City last week during the wonderful Tall Ship Celebration Maritime Festival to talk to several agri-business leaders about the major advances agriculture has made in the wise preservation, management and use of our increasingly precious water.

Some of the specific environmentally-friendly initiatives and activities recognized include water conservation, recycling, reducing carbon emissions, LEED-certified building construction, bio-based fuel use and energy efficiency. For our interviews, we focused on water management.

We talked with Jim Byrum, MABA president, and with representatives from Scotts Miracle-Gro, Star of the West Milling Company and The Fertilizer Institute about the importance of wise water preservation and use, not only in agricultural production but all along the food and fiber supply chain—including transportation, processing and retail sales. One of the most striking advances in the past decade has been the use of satellite technology to ensure that agricultural producers are using the precise amount of fertilizer and other nutrients on their fields to dramatically reduce chemical run-off into ground or surface water. According to Byrum, Michigan leads the nation in the number of acres planted using global positioning satellite technology—over 90%.

Along similar lines, Scotts Miracle-Gro has worked with MABA to remove phosphorous from all its fertilizer products sold in Michigan. Because of the proximity of the Great Lakes and some of the challenges we face in protecting them, including phosphorous run-off, Michigan agriculturists are acutely aware that we must continue to make science-based advancements in wise water use. Such advancements will help ensure that Michigan’s agriculture industry will continue to thrive and prosper in both environmentally and economically sustainable ways. “We have to do things in the environmentally right way,” Byrum said, “because we simply cannot outsource agriculture.”

To learn more about the “Green Agri-Business” award program, The Fertilizer Institute’s nation-wide 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program (right source at right rate at right time and in the right place), Star of the West’s water conservation initiatives and Scotts’ commitment to environmentally-friendly product development, please click on the arrows below to hear my conversations with our guests.